Obi-Wan drew in a deep breath and wiped his hand across his sweating brow. It was very tempting just to fall to his knees and let the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm him do just that. Engulf and consume him until he became a part of the rich black earth that he?d been toiling in for the past seven hours.

Instead, he leaned on the hoe he?d been using to turn over the soil and looked around him. The sun was still high in the sky and it beat down on him mercilessly. The days were long on this world and the nights far too short. Sweat trickled down his neck, his chest and his back. Sweat and dirt and grime and exhaustion.

Obi-Wan let himself dream about cold water, both on his flesh and in his mouth. He let himself fantasize about cool, soft sheets and the utter blissful oblivion of sleep. He let himself revel in the promise of rest and the alleviation of thirst and the end of this lesson, this exercise in humility as Qui-Gon had called it.

Obi-Wan looked around and saw the other farmers working in the field, their squat bodies closer to the ground than his, their square, gray faces betraying no hint of the exhaustion he could only imagine was etched on his face like sacrificial scars.

Back-breaking work his master had called it but Qui-Gon had neglected to mention that the term was not just figurative, but literal. Obi-Wan's back felt as if every bone in it was twisted and warped beyond recognition. The muscles in his arms and legs and around his chest ached, and the blood seemed to move like mud through his veins even as his heart labored to push it through his body.

The gravity was heavier on this planet and that was probably one reason Obi-Wan was so tired. Also, Qui-Gon had ordered him not to use the Force in anyway in order to make his task easier. He was to work like the others. That was part of the lesson.

Rest time over, Obi-Wan told himself. He went back to work, pushing the hoe through the dirt. Soon, after what seemed like the longest day in his life, the sun began to fall towards the horizon. The light was still bright but he sensed that the onset of twilight and after that, night, sweet, blessed night, with the hallowed promise of darkness and rest, was not far off

Perhaps it was the promise of sleep that made Obi-Wan work even harder, straining his muscles, pushing himself to get as much work done before the day was over. His gaze was fixed on the ground, all his attention focused on moving the hoe through the dirt. Soon he built up a rhythm that, although mechanical, also had a fluid grace to it. He even found himself humming along to his exertions, a song he had heard the farmers singing the other night around the communal fire.

?I had meant this to be a lesson, not a punishment.?

He jumped and turned around. Qui-Gon stood a short distance away.

?Master.?

Obi-Wan wiped away the sweat that was pooling in his eyes. He bowed to his master and it took all his Jedi training not to cry out as his back soundly protested the movement.

Qui-Gon smiled and moved closer. Then he stopped and looked around. ?You have accomplished much, Padawan. The Elders will be pleased.?

Obi-Wan nodded. Now that he had stopped working he was too tired to speak. Exhaustion swept over him like a tide and it was all he could do not to fall over in a shuddering lump of quivering flesh.

?It is time to come in," Qui-Gon said. "You are the only one still out in the fields.?

Obi-Wan looked around. It was true. He was alone. As he walked alongside his master, Qui-Gon reached over and took the hoe from him. Obi-Wan was hesitant to give it up. It had become a part of him, an extension of his flesh and his will and his spirit but he knew his master was showing him a kindness. Such displays were rare and, therefore, not to be wasted. He handed over the hoe.

MaychorianWow, very nice vig. Very Jedi-like lesson. I liked the insights Obi-Wan drew from this lesson in the simple life, and simple pleasures derived from hard work. Great job!

Thanks, Maychorian! I wanted to write something that was just a little episode in the life of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon and that I hoped would portray something of their relationship in the early stages of Obi-Wan's apprenticeship. Glad you liked it.

DarthIshtarAww, I love the conversation.

Thanks, DarthIshtar!

JediVeloJinnI liked this vignette.

Thank you, JediVeloJinn!

I kept trying to guess what type of natives they were. I thought Chinese. But silly me, because then there'd also be people in rice paddies as well as fields

That's true. Hmmm, they were just some aliens that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were vistiing for some reason, which to be honest, escapes me at the moment.

I also liked this little snippet: Such displays were rare and, therefore, not to be wasted.

Yes, since I was imaginging this was the very early stages of Qui-Gon an Obi-Wan's relationship as master and padawan, I figured Qui-Gon was being rather reticent with his emotions, seeing as he was still somewhat scarred from his experience with Xanatos.

Jennifer_LynNice work! I loved the lesson. Great descriptions and characterization. I like the native culture, too. Very Native American. Cool idea!

Thanks, Jennifer_Lyn. I just had this image, one day, of Obi-Wan working in a field and decided to see what I could make out of it.

LadyPadme Very nicely done!

Thanks, Lady Padme!
And those lessons Obi-Wan learned are good lessons for all of us

I agree! Especially in our age when so many of us don't do much manual labor anymore. Everything is so automatic and mechanized and, heck, if we're hungry, we just drive down to the grocery store and buy our food.

This is precisely the real world - salt of the Earth sort of lesson I have always imagined the Jedi of old teaching their students. The sort of lesson that gave the Jedi appreciation for the common things, and seeing how their work fit into the big picture. Wonderfully done.

Humble apologies for being so late in thanking Just-Jill, Force-sensitiveLyn23, JadeSolo, TRADMIC, Healer Leona, Lost-Jedii, Star_Drifter, Jedi_Tigris, and Neo Paladin for your replies.

I'm just now returning the boards after almost four months away. I wish I had time to thank you each individually but DRL is really nipping steadily at my free time. But I'm glad you enjoyed my ficlet and I apologize, again, for being so terribly late in thanking you for taking the time to read it and respond to it.